Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster

Natalia Ayesha Grosvenor, Dowager Duchess of Westminster (née Phillips; born 8 May 1959), is a British aristocrat, philanthropist and winemaker. She is the widow of the 6th Duke of Westminster and mother of the 7th Duke. As of 2021, the Duchess's family, specifically her son, were 12th on the Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £10.045 billion.[1]

Her Grace

The Duchess of Westminster
Born
Natalia Ayesha Phillips

(1959-05-08) 8 May 1959
London, England, United Kingdom
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1978; died 2016)​
Children
Parents

Early life

Born Natalia Ayesha Phillips, she is the youngest daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Harold "Bunnie" Phillips and Georgina "Gina" Wernher.[2] Her paternal grandparents were Colonel Joseph Phillips and Mary Bryce, daughter of John Pablo Bryce. Her maternal grandparents were Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Bt, and Countess Anastasia de Torby, morganatic daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia. Tally, as she is known to friends and family, had an older brother, Nicholas (1947–1991), and three older sisters, including Marita Knight and the late Alexandra Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn.[3] She and her siblings are direct descendants of poet Alexander Pushkin and Afro-Russian engineer Abram Gannibal.

Activities

The Duchess supports many charitable endeavours in Cheshire and across the United Kingdom, these include the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust and the Hopsice of the Good Shepherd.[4][5][6]

The Duchess is godmother of William, Prince of Wales, in turn, Diana, Princess of Wales, was godmother of her daughter, Lady Edwina, and her son, Hugh, is godfather of Prince George of Wales.[7]

The Duchess owns a vineyard in Portofino called "La Cappelletta" where she produces Vermentino della Cappelletta, a Ligurian Vermentino.[8][9][10]

Marriage and issue

Natalia met Gerald Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, at a ball at Blenheim Palace in 1977.[11] When Natalia's maternal grandmother heard she was going out with the heir to the Duke of Westminster, she told her "Don't let him go. Don't let him go, you must come down and bring him to lunch".[3]

They married the next year at St Mary's Church, Luton, near her family seat, Luton Hoo, on 17 October 1978. Natalia wore a gown designed by Sarah Butler and an antique diamond and spinel tiara which Grosvenor had bought for her that had belonged to Princess Catherine Bagration.[11] Notable guests at the wedding included Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Lord Mountbatten, whose granddaughter, India Hicks, was a bridesmaid.[11] Upon marriage, Natalia was styled as Countess Grosvenor.

Four months later, Grosvenor's father died and he became the 6th Duke of Westminster, thus making Natalia the Duchess of Westminster. They have four children and six grandchildren:

Ancestry

References
  1. "The Sunday Times Rich List 2021". The Sunday Times. 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  2. Dewar, Peter Beauclerk (2001). Burke' Landed Gentry of Great Britain: Together with Members of the Titled and non-Titled Contemporary Establishment (19 ed.). Burke's Peerage. ISBN 978-0-9711966-0-5.
  3. Trevelyan, Raleigh (1991). Grand Dukes and Diamonds: The Wernhers of Luton Hoo. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 9780436534041.
  4. "Our Patrons". Alex Moulton Charitable Trust. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. Jones, Leah (30 June 2017). "Duchess of Westminster officially opens Hospice of the Good Shepherd's new extension". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  6. de Lucia, Carmen (11 April 2019). "It's exactly 30 years since Chester's Hospice of the Good Shepherd first opened". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. Holmes, David (23 October 2013). "Earl is godfather to baby Prince George". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. Pitorri, Grazia (27 March 2017). "La duchessa di Westminster diventa contadina (a Portofino)". Elle (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. Bush, Bettina (14 March 2017). "A Portofino il vino della duchessa di Westminster". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  10. "A Portofino il vino della Duchessa di Westminster". ANSA (in Italian). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  11. Kiehna, Lauren (17 August 2021). "A Spinel Tiara for an Aristocratic Bride". The Court Jeweller. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  12. "Royals attend top society wedding". BBC News. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  13. Bridger-Linning, Stephanie (28 April 2023). "Key Coronation duty for the Duke of Westminster – Prince George's newly-engaged billionaire godfather". Tatler. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
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